The government plan to strike hundreds of teachers off the state payroll if the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) protest goes ahead at the end of October.
The proposed protest would be effective in over half of Ireland’s secondary schools.
Over 80% of ASTI members have voted in favour of strike action over the pay of recently qualified teachers.
The Department of Education told the Sunday Independent that they would take teacher’s off the state payroll if the school is forced to close.
ASTI, the only teachers’ union that have still not signed the Lansdowne Road Agreement, will cease their supervisory and substitution duties for seven days between October 27th and December 7th.
Some affected schools have begun issuing application forms for parents to supervise the children in the school during the ASTI strike.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education says; “In circumstances where schools are forced to close as a result of the withdrawal of teachers from their duties relating to supervision and substitution, teachers who have not made themselves available for these duties will come off the payroll.”
The spokesperson also added that there is a current deal on the table; including a 22% pay increase for recenently graduated teachers, and a 9% increase for teachers with over 11 years of experience.